Vapor-bath



UNITED STA'rpS rATnNT onirica.

THOS. S. LAMBERT, OF UTICA, NEW YORK.

VAPOR-BATH.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 3,992, dated April 10, 1845.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS S. LAMBERT, ofUtica, in the county of Oneida and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful improvements in the manner of constructing andusing portable vapor-bath apparatus for the purpose of applying' steamand vapors of various kinds to the cure of diseases; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full and exact description thereof.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l, is an elevation of my apparatus;Fig. 2, is a vertical Section thereof through its middle, and Fig. 3, aperspective representation of the lamp which I employ to heat the fluidsand convert other evaporable materials into vapor.

A, A, is the reservoir within which any fluid that is to be convertedinto vapor is to be contained. B, B, is a casing that surrounds thisreservoir, and that projects below its bottom and rises above its top;between this casing and reservoir there is a space, C, C, to admit theheated air from the lamp, Fig. 3, which is to be placed under it. a, a,are ventilation openings, to secure a free draft. From the upper part ofthe reservoir there rises a hollow cylinder, D, D, which is made true,as a piston is to fit, and to rise and fall, within it; this cylindermay be made of copper, brass, or other suitable metal, soldered firmlyby its lower edge to the reservoir, so as to constitute a part of it.Into this cylinder passes another, Ifl, E, which is hollow, and thelower part, E', of which constitutes a piston that fits and works freelyin the cylinder, D, said lower part being wound with yarn, or cov eredwith other elastic material for that purpose. The cylindrical, hollowpiston, E, is closed below by a bottom plate, Z), Z2, and it will beacted upon, therefore, by any vapor, generated within the reservoir witha force proportioned to the elasticity of such vapor. This piston beinghollow, forms al cup, or reeiver, within which sulfur, iodin, or otherevaporable solid, or fluid, may be contained; it is shown as enlarged atits upper part, F, F, and as furnished with a closefitting cover, F,from which proceeds a tube, G, through which any vapor may be allowed topass, that may be conducted by means of a flexible, or jointed, tubeattached to G, to any part to which it is to be applied.

I-I, represents a weight of lead, or other substance, which may beplaced within the hollow of the piston, or on its top, and may beincreased, or diminished, according to the elastic force which it isdesired to give to the steam, or vapor; the shape of its upper part may,of course, be varied at pleasure.

When the steam, or vapor, is to be obtained and used from the fluidcontained in the reservoir A, it may be allowed to escape through atube, I, to which, when requisite, may be attached a flexible, or other,tube which may lead wherever it may be required; as, for example,between the bedclothes of a patient, for steaming a limb, or other partof the body, or for moistening the dressings of a wound. Before it canescape, however, the piston E. E, must be raised so as that its bottom,b, I), shall be above the opening I; and this must be effected by theelastic force of the Steam operating on said bottom. The elasticitydesired is to be obtained by graduating the load I-I, with which it isweighted. By this means, it is adapted to the use of liquids ofdifferent densities and evaporability.

Within the body of the piston may be placed sulfur, iodin, or any othersubstance which it is desired to convert into, and apply in the form of,vapor; and these will become l f heated by the graduated heat of thefluid contained in the reservoir A, A, so that they may be applied atthe lowest possible temperature at which their evaporation can beeffected. The vapor from this vessel may be conducted to any part whereit is required, through the intermedium of the tube G.

J, J, is a ferrule that embraces the cylinder, D, D, and is capable ofbeing turned around upon it, said ferrule having a slot in it, as at c,to allow the tube, I, to pass through, and the ferrule to revolve to thedistance of half an inch, more or less. This ferrule has a second holethrough it, as at CZ, Fig. Q, and there is a corresponding hole throughthe cylinder D; by turning the ferrule J, this hole may be opened andclosed at pleasure; its size, also, is determined by the same means, soas to regulate the quantity of vapor which Shall issue through it. Whenthis is used, the tube I, may be closed, or it may be used to conductoff any portion of the steam.

Fig. 3, represents the lamp which is used to heat the materials in thereservoir. The reservoir and its appendages are supported on legs, e, e,e, which are made to ship and unship; these legs serve to elevate theapparatus so as to admit of the lamp passing under it. The body, orreceiver, ot the lamp I make annular, the opening K, through it allowingit, when not in use, to pass over the cylinder D, D, and to rest uponthe top of the reservoir, thus rende 1ing the whole instrument extremelyportable; the apparatus which I have used is only one third larger thanthat represented in the drawing. The ring-like body. L, L, of the lampis shown as having two elevated portions M, M, that sustain th-e wickswhich pass down into the spirits ot wine contained in the body ot thelamp, through tubular openings, as at rlhe upper sides of these elevatedportions are horizontal; the wick is made to lie tlat down in a shallowrecess on their tops when not in use; and by means of a wire loop, g, g,which is attached to the horizontal top, and has spiral springs it, 7i,at its ends, the wick, which would otherwise lie tlat down, may

e raised and sustained, and a very extended flame may be obtained. Forthe purpose of regulating the extent and intensity of the flame, eachoft the elevated portions is furnished with a sliding cover, N, which isguided back and forth by means oit grooves, and may be made to cover anydesired poi'- tion of the wick, and thus to limit the flame to anydesired extent, or to extinguish it entirely. l.Vhen the lamp is placedunder the receiver, I sometimes, to confine the heat, add a conical rim,such as is represented in Fig. 1l, on to the lower partl of theapparatus, as shown by the red lines, z', 2', Fig. l; a similar rim maybe placed on the top, as shown by the red lines, j, j; in this lastcase, such herbs as may be desired may be placed within the rim, and thesteam as it issues, dillusing itself throughout the mass, will imbibeand convey its odor, and other volatile principles.

My general manner of applying the steam and vapor to the whole body whensuch vapor is not to be inhaled, is by the employ- Anient of a bag, orsack, made double, one

portion of it being of oiled silk, and the other of flannel, or othersuitable kind of cloth; this is to be drawn over the person, and at thetop, where it is in the torni of a yoke, so called, it. may be fastenedaround the neck ot the patient. This sack I make of sutlicient width tocontain a chair, and of the length required for conveniently using theapparatus. I close it all around xcepting' in front, where it is openthree fourths of the way down, and is so wide as to fold across in'liront to such extent as to confine the vapor; it has a sleeve, ortube, at its bottom to admit the vapor, and one at its top forconducting it ott; it may, however, be differently construct-ed.

rIhe apparatus may, of course, be used, when the steam and vapor are tobe breathed, in an inclosure of the ordinary kind, consisting of a tramecovered with blankets, or other cloth, in which a chair may be placedwith the lamp and receiver beneath it; but the bag, or sack, isperfectly portable, is specially applicable to the employment of thosevapors which are to be applied to the skin, and which may not bebreathed, while it may be used when steam alone is enr ployed.

By means of this apparatus any two sub stances may be used in immediatesuccession by putting one of them into the hollow piston, and the otherinto the boiler. The conducting tubes may then be changed, and afterusing a bath ot any unpleasant substance from the hollow piston, thismay be turned ott, and steam, or perfumed vapor, from the boiler may beintroduced, cleansing the skin, and blowing out from the sack, orenvelop, the vapor at tirst introduced.

When the apparatus is not in use, I tuck the wicks into the wickopenings, f, which I close by a cork, said cork having a hooked wirepassing through it that draws the wick up after it. The spirits of winethat I burn in the lamp is thus ettectually preserved from evaporation.

Having thus fully described the nature ot my improvements in theportable vapor bath, and shown the mann-er of using, and the operationof the same, what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is-

l. The combining of the hollow piston, E. E, with the reservoir, A, A,which piston is made to regula-te the elasticity of the vapor', in themanner and for the purposes herein set forth; said hollow piston alsoconstituting a receptacle :tor such articles as it may be desired toconvert into vapor, by the heating of the fluid in the reservoir.

2. I also claim the particular manner in which I arrange and combine therespective parts of the burner, or burners, of my lamp; said partsconsisting, principally, ot the wire loop, g, g, for sustaining the wickin a position nearly horizontal, and the sliding cov-er, N, forregulating the flame, the whole operating substantially as set forth.

T. S. LAMBERT.

TWitnesses Tiros. P. JoNns, WIM. BISHOP,

